Centrifugal pumps are well known in the art and are used for many fluid pumping applications. For example, centrifugal pumps may be used to pump water from one water station to another. They may also be used in construction applications, i.e., to pump water from an excavation cite.
Occasionally, a pump may ingest solid material which can cause clogging of the pump or compromise its operation in other ways. Many times this clogging may necessitate the disassembly of the centrifugal pump in order to remove the material.
Clean-out assemblies allowing access to an impeller chamber have been used in internally self-priming, centrifugal pumps. Examples of pumps having this feature are known as “T-Series” pumps sold by The Gorman-Rupp Company. A self priming pump having clean-out capability is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 3,898,014.